Control apparatus for a tow cable



y 15, 1962 G. REYNOLDS 3,034,742

CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A TOW CABLE Filed Dec. 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 92 I 73 59 25 /a 97 O /0 INVENTOR. 150M420 6 A A-mm a;

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United States Patent 3,034,742 CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A TGW CABLE Leonard G. Reynolds, Pavilion Township, Kalamazoo County, Mich. (1219 Grand Ave., Kalamazoo, Mich.) Filed Dec. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 862,322 5 Claims. (Cl. 242-865) This invention relates in general to an apparatus for controlling the extension and retraction of a tow cable from a water vehicle and, more particularly, to a type of such apparatus whereby a Water ski tow cable can be anchored upon a boat when being used to pull a skier and, at the end of such use, can be quickly and easily retrieved by a portable device which does not have to be secured to the boat.

The following description and drawings are directed to the invention as applied to the control and retrieving of a water ski tow cable. Such an application is ideally suited to a full disclosure of the invention and, moreover, it represents the circumstances which gave rise to the invention. However, it will be recognized that this invention may be applied to a variety of diiferent uses and, therefore, such specific disclosure is not intended to limit the invention.

It is generally necessary to use a long tow cable, the length of which may exceed 75 feet, when towing a water skier behind a boat. It is usually desirable and often necessary to pull the cable back into the boat several times during a towing operation. More specifically, when the skier releases the tow rope, either accidentally or intentionally, it is at least desirable and often necessary to retrieve the cable before an attempt is made to tow the same or a diiferent skier. It is often dangerous to drag the extended cable through the water after it is released by the water skier and, moreover, it is often impossible to get the tow cable into the hands of the skier without first retrieving the cable.

At the present time, and according to existing practices, ski tow cables are usually tied, or otherwise held by a fixture mounted upon the boat so that the desired length of cable extends away from the fixture. When it becomes desirable to pull the cable intothe boat, it is usually accomplished manually by a hand-over-hand operation.

Under some circumstances, and more particularly where professional water skiers are involved, the boat may be equipped with a hand-operated reel which is permanently mounted upon the boat near the stern thereof. In such case, the load imposed upon the cable by the skier is transferred directly to and, therefore, must be withstood by the reeling device and its mounting. A reeling device capable of supporting such loads must be sturdy, powerful and very securely anchored, which results in a high cost. This type of permanent and costly installation is not suited for use by the majority of non-professional skiers and, accordingly, has not received consumer acceptance. Most motorboats, particularly of the outboard type, are intended to serve several purposes, most of which do not require the presence of a large, costly and permanently installed device for retrieving a tow cable.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus for controlling the extension and retraction of a tow cable from a water vehicle and, more particularly, to a type of said apparatus which is arranged so that the load imposed by the skier upon the tow cable is applied directly to, and is carried entirely by, the boat and not by the retrieving device of the apparatus, whereby said retrieving device need only be strong enough to overcome the drag of the cable through the water.

A further object of this invention has been the pro- 3,034,742 Patented May 15, 1962 vision of a cable-retrieving device which is portable, light in weight, can be operated from the power system of the motorboat, is positive in its action, can be easily and remotely controlled, requires no installation before use, is completely and easily adapted to use with any type of motorboat, regardless of its structure, and which eliminates completely the need for manually retrieving the tow cable.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of an apparatus, as aforesaid, wherein the amount of cable extending from the boat can be easily and quickly changed, wherein the retrieving device can be manufactured inexpensively and attractively while, at the same time, rendering the overall apparatus capable of more effective, less dangerous, less costly and more reliable operation than previously-known structures and procedures for the same or similar purposes.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the following specification and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a broken, side elevational view of an apparatus embodying the invention in operating association with the stern of a motorboat.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of said apparatus and a fragment of the stern of a motorboat associated therewith.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line III-III in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV- IV in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the apparatus of the invention taken along the line VV in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the invention in association with a fragment of a boat having an outboard motor and an alternate cable-engaging device on the transom thereof.

FIGURE 7 is a rear end view of the outboard motorboat and cable-engaging device shown in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIVIII in FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary top view of an inboard motorboat having a modified cable-engaging device mounted upon the transom thereof.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the line X-X in FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-XI in FIGURE 9 and disclosing an alternate eyelet construction.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above, have been met by providing an apparatus comprising a portable, power-driven device for retrieving a tow cable in combination with adjustable mechanism which is associated with the tow cable and a motorboat for positively limiting the extension of the cable from both the boat and the retrieving device. The cable-retrieving device is comprised of a reel which is rotatably supported within a housing and is connected to drive means for effecting a rotation of the reel in a cable winding direction. The cable-arresting mechanism includes an eyelet secured with respect to the boat for slidably receiving the tow cable and a stop member adjustably secured to the cable for engaging the eyelet and thereby limiting the extension of the cable therethrough. The retrieving device is light in weight and can be easily carried to and from the boat with the tow cable wound upon the reel therein.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower, front, rear, and derivatives thereof or words of similar import, shall have reference to the cable-positioning apparatus of the invention in its normal position of operation within a boat, which position is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof shall have reference to the geometric center of said apparatus and parts thereof.

Detailed Construction The cable-controlling apparatus (FIGURES 1 and 2), which has been selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, is comprised of a cable-retrieving device 11 and cable-arresting mechanism 12 which is preferably associated with the stern of a motorboat 13. The specific arrangement and construction of the boat 13 does not materially affect the invention. However, in this particular embodiment, the boat 13 is of the inboard type and has a bottom 14, a gunwale 17 and a stern panel or transom 1 8. A horizontal plate 19 and vertical plate 22, which are secured together along adjacent edges thereof, are also secured to adjacent portions of the bottom 14, gunwale 17 and transom 18 to define a combined seat and watertight compartment 23, in a substantially conventional manner.

The cable retriever 11 (FIGURE 3) includes a housing having a bottom wall 26, a pair of side walls 27 and 28, and a peripheral wall 29 which has between the ends thereof an upper, arcuate portion 32 (FIGURE 2). The lower ends of the wall 29 are secured to the front and rear ends of the bottom wall 26. The portion 32 of the peripheral wall 29 has a circumferentially elongated opening 33 which preferably extends through an arc of between approximately 60 to 90 degrees. The edges of the peripheral wall 29 (FIGURE 3) adjacent to the opening 33 are preferably rolled under to provide a protective head around the opening 33. One circumferential end of said opening 33 is preferably located on the rear side of the peripheral wall 29 and the other end of said opening 33 is on the top side of said peripheral wall 29.

The housing 25 (FIGURE 3) has sidewardly extending flanges 34 and 35 which are preferably coplanar with the bottom wall 26 and add stability to the housing when it is in its operating position. Said flanges 34 and 35 are provided with openings 37 for the purpose of receiving screws whereby the housing 25 may, if desired, be permanently or temporarrily anchored within the boat 13, such as upon the plate 19. However, it will be recognized that such anchoring would be for convenience and is not essential to the operation of the invention. A handle bar 31 is secured to the upper portion of the housing 25 for the purpose of manually engaging and carrying the cable retriever 11.

A shaft 38 (FIGURE 3) is rotatably supported concentrically within the arcuate portion 32 of the peripheral wall 29 by means of the bearings 41 and 42 which are mounted upon the opposing surfaces of the side walls 27 and 28, respectively. A reel 43 is mounted upon and rotatable with the shaft 38 between the bearings 41 and 42. A large gear 44 is secured upon and rotatable with the shaft 38 between the reel 43 and the bearing 42.

A prime mover (FIGURE 3), such as the electric motor 46, is supported and secured by means including the pedestal 47 upon the bottom wall 26 of the housing 25. Said motor is axially parallel with the shaft 38 and is preferably disposed outwardly of and in radial alignment with the reel 43, but within the lower rear end of the housing 25. The portion of the housing 25 occupied by the motor 46 may be isolated from the remainder of the housing by the motor shield 52, which preferably extends between, and is secured to, the bottom wall 26 and the rear end of the peripheral wall 29. The shield 52 also preferably extends from the side wall 27 to a point near to, but spaced from, the side wall 28.

A small gear 53 (FIGURES l and 3) is mounted upon and is rotatable with the motor shaft 54 for rotation therewith. The small gear 53 is disposed adjacent to the side wall 28 for peripheral, driving engagement with the large gear 44. It will be apparent that other driving connections, such as a chain and sprockets, may be provided between the reel shaft 28 and the motor shaft 54.

The motor 46 (FIGURE 3) may be connected by conductors 70 in series with a source of electrical energy, such as the battery 67, and a manually operable switch 68.

A conventional tow cable 72 (FIGURE 3) is secured at one end to the reel 43, which is mounted upon the shaft 33. The other end of said cable 72 is extendable through the opening 33 in the wall 29. A cable guide 73 (FIG- URES 2 and 5) having a guide opening 74 is mounted upon the housing 25 for guiding the cable 72 in its movement onto or off from the reel 69. In this embodiment, the cable guide 73 is a U-shaped member having a web 76, in which the guide opening 74 is disposed, arid a pair of arms 77 and 78 which extend substantially perpendicularly away from said web 76. The web 76 is preferably shorter in length than the width of the peripheral wall 29 and the arms 77 and 78 have outwardly and angularly offset portions defining shoulders 81 and 82 which are slidably engageable with said peripheral wall 29. Said arms "77 and 78 have openings and 66, respectively, outwardly of said shoulders through which the bolts 83 and 84 are slidably and respectively receivable for engagement by the manually operable wing nuts 86 and 87. Said bolts 83 and 84 also extend through a pair of arcuate openings '88 and 89 in the side walls 27 and 28, respectively, near to and concentric with the peripheral wall 29. The arcuate openings 88 and 89 are so arranged with respect to the opening 33 in the peripheral wall 29, that, when the wing nuts 86 and 87 are loosened, the cable guide 73 can be moved to guide the cable 72 through substantially any part of the opening 33.

The mechanism 12 (FIGURES 1 and 3) includes an eyelet 92 which is rigidly mounted upon a base 93 for securing said eyelet 92 upon a part of the boat 13, such as the transom 18. The base 93 includes a downwardly extending flange 94, and both the base and its flange may be secured to the upper edge portion of the transom 18, depending upon its particular construction, by any convenient means, including bolts, screws or the like. The eyelet 92 is preferably disposed so that the axis of the opening 96 therethrough is substantially perpendicular to the flange 94 and, accordingly, extends lengthwise of the boat 13.

A stop member, such as the ball 97 (FIGURE 4), has an opening 98 through which the cable 72 slidably but snugly extends. The opening 98 has an enlarged portion 99 at its rear end into which a knot 102 on the cable 72 is snugly received for limiting forward movement of the cable 72 through the smooth bore opening 98.

The cable 72 is slidably receivable through the opening 96 in the eyelet 92, but the ball 97 is intentionally too large to pass through said eyelet. However, the guide opening 74 in the cable guide 73 is large enough to permit easily the passage of the ball 97 therethrough. The outer free end of the cable 72 may be provided with a loop 104 for releasable engagement by a handle assembly 103.

Operation The apparatus 10 (FIGURE 1) is installed simply by mounting the base 93 of the eyelet 92 upon an appropriate part of the boat 13, such as the upper edge of the transom 18. Under normal circumstances, the cable retriever 11 is not permanently secured to the boat 13. When operation of the apparatus 10 is desired, the retriever 11 is placed in the stern of the boat 13, as upon the horizontal plate 19, adjacent to the transom 18. The cable 72, including the loop 104, is then threaded through the guide opening 74 and the eyelet opening 96, and a suitable handle assembly 103 is connected to the loop 104. The conductors from the motor 46 and switch 68 are then connected to a power source, such as the battery 67 which is used to energize the electrical system of the motorboat.

When the motor 46 is not operating, the reel 43 can be rotated in either rotational direction, but such rotation will be opposed somewhat by the frictional drag of the gears 44 and 53, and the motor 46. Accordingly, the skier manually engages the handle assembly 103 and the boat 13 is moved away from the skier, thereby unwinding the cable 72 from the reel 43, until the stop member 97 engages the eyelet 92. All of the load imposed upon the cable 72 by the skier is now borne entirely by the eyelet 92. The skiing operation can now commence in an otherwise substantially conventional manner.

If, for any reason, it becomes desirable to return the cable 72 to the boat, such is quickly and easily accomplished simply by actuating the switch 68, whereby the motor 46 is energized and rotated. The rotation of the gears 53 and 44 by the motor 46 causes the reel 43 to draw the cable 72 through the eyelet 92 and cable guide 73 until it is completely wound upon the reel 43.

Modified Structures FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate an alternate, cable-engaging device 108, which is mountable upon the stern of a motorboat 109 for guiding the cable 72 from a retriever 11 around an outboard motor 111 mounted upon the transom 112 of said boat -9. More specifically, the cable-engaging device 108 is comprised of a substantially rigid and V-shaped support bar 113 having an integral eyelet 114 at the apex thereof through which the cable 72 is slidably received. A pair of rings 116 and 117 are mounted by means of their integral plates 118 and 119, respectively, upon the outer surface of the transom 112 near the upper edge and opposite ends thereof, so that said rings are substantially coaxial. The support bar 113 has integral, substantially coaxial and inwardly extending end portions 121 and 122 which are pivotally and snugly receivable through the openings in the rings 116 and 117, respectively, for pivotally supporting the bar 113 thereon.

The end portion 122 of the bar 113 (FIGURE 7) has a downward, integral extension 123 which is preferably disposed substantially perpendicular to the end portion 122 and at an angle of approximately 70 degrees to the plane defined by the support bar 113. Accordingly, when the extension 123 is hearing against the transom 112, the support bar 113 will be in a downwardly and rearwardly sloping position, as appearing in FIGURES 7 and 8. However, the support bar 113 extends sufiiciently outwardly from the transom 112 that it can be pivoted upwardly around the motor 111 (FIGURE 7) into its broken line position 113a.

A guide ring 125 is mounted upon the support bar 11.3 between the ring 116 and the end portion 122 for the purpose of guiding the cable 72 around the motor 111 and into the retriever 11. The eyelet 114 is substantially smaller in diameter than the ball 97 secured upon the cable 72, whereby the outward movement of the cable 72 is limited in substantially the same manner as set forth above with respect to the structure disclosed in FIGURE 1. However, the guide ring 125 is large enough to permit the passage of the ball 97 therethrough so that the entire cable 72 can be retracted by the retriever 1 1.

The support bar 113 (FIGURE 7) can be disengaged from the rings 116 and 117, hence from the boat 109, by spreading apart the end portions 121 and 122 of the support bar 113 until the end portion 121 is moved out of the ring 116. Thereafter, by appropriate manipulation of the support bar 113, the end portion 122 and extension 123 can also be disengaged from the ring 117. Thus, only the rings 116 and 1417, along with their mounting plates are permanently attached to the boat 109.

The cable-engaging device 130 (FIGURES 9 and 10) is comprised of an arcuate support bar 131 having an elongated, relatively narrow slot 132 extending lengthwise in the central portion thereof. Said support bar has end portions 133 and 134 and a downward extension 136 on the end portion 134 in a manner substantially similar to that set forth above with respect to the corresponding parts on the support bar 1 13. The end portions 133 and 134 are removably and pivotally supported within rings 137 and 138 which are supported upon the transom 139 of a boat 141 by means of the integral plates 142 and 143.

A guide ring 144 (FIGURES 9 and 11) is supported upon the upper edge of the transom 139 by means of its integral flange and base 146. In this particular embodiment, the boat 1141 has an inboard motor so that the guide ring 144 is centrally located upon the transom 139. However, where an outboard motorboat is involved, the guide ring 144 would be laterally offset or, alternatively, secured to the support bar 131 in substantially the same manner as the guide ring is mounted upon the support bar 113.

The guide ring 144 (FIGURE 11) may be of the split type wherein the upper half 147 thereof is pivotally supported at one end by means of the pin 148 upon the lower half 149. A spring clip 151 is secured to the upper half 147 for releasable engagement with a catch 152 on the adjacent portion of the lower half 1 49 of the ring 144. Accordingly, the ring 144 can be opened for the purpose of laying the cable 72 therein instead of threading it therethrough. The other eyelets and guide rings described hereinabove may be similarly constructed, if desired.

The cable 72 extends through the slot 132 (FIGURE 10) in the support bar 131, but the ball 97 on said cable 72 is unable to pass through the slot 132. Thus, as the cable '72 is moved by the skier transversely of the boat, the ball 97 moves along the inner side of the support bar 131. This arrangement eliminates the tendency to tip the boat which sometimes occurs, particularly with professional skiers, when the cable is anchored rigidly to the I central portion of the transom, as appearing in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for controlling the extension and position of a water ski tow cable with respect to a boat, comprsing:

an eyelet mounted upon the stern of the boat and having an opening therethrough substantially aligned witht-he lengthwise extent of said boat;

:a reel housing having a base resting upon and within said boat adjacent said stern thereof, and having a peripheral wall with a circumferentially elongated cable opening through the upper part of said wall;

a cable reel rotatably supported within said reel housing substantially concentrically with said peripheral wall, and a cable secured near one end to said reel and extendable through said cable opening in said peripheral wall; 7

a cable guide supported upon said reel housing, said cable guide being adjustable with respect to said housing lengthwise of said cable opening, said guide having a guide opening therethrough axially alignable between the opening in said eyelet and the cable opening in said wall;

a motor mounted within said housing and axially parallel with said reel;

a drive means connecting said motor to said reel, whereby rotation of said motor effects rotation of said reel in one direction, said reel being rotatable in the opposite direction in response to a force applied to said cable away from said reel when said motor is deenergized;

a stop member secured to said cable, said stop member being larger than the opening in said eyelet so that said stop member is incapable of movement through the said eyelet in response to said force applied to the cable away from said eyelet, and said stop memher being slidably receivable through the openings in said peripheral wall and said guide member, engagement of said eyelet by said stop member being the sole means for stopping movement of said cable away from said reel and said boat, whereby none of said force tending to move said cable away from said reel is transmitted to said housing.

2. A device for controlling the extension and position of a water ski tow cable with respect to a boat, comprising:

an eyelet mounted upon the stern of the boat and having an opening therethrough substantially aligned with the lengthwise extent of said boat;

a reel housing having a base resting upon and within said boat adjacent said stern thereof, and having a peripheral wall with a circumferentially elongated cable opening through the upper part of said wall;

a cable reel rotatably supported within said reel housing substantially concentrically with said peripheral wall, and a cable secured near one end to said reel and extendable through said cable opening in said peripheral wall;

a motor mounted within said housing and axially parallel with said reel;

a drive means connecting said motor to said reel, whereby rotation of said motor effects rotation of said reel in one direction, said reel being rotatable in the opposite direction in response to a force applied to said cable away from said reel when said motor is deenergized;

a stop member secured to said cable, said stop member being larger than the opening in said eyelet so that said stop member is incapable of movement through the said eyelet in response to said force applied to the cable away from said eyelet, and said stop member being slidably receivable through the opening in said peripheral wall, engagement of said eyelet by said stop member being the sole means for stopping movement of said cable away from said reel and said boat, whereby none of said force tending to move said cable away from said reel is transmitted to said reel housing.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said housing has a pair of axially disposed walls each wall having an arcuate slot therethrough adjacent to said peripheral wall and concentric therewith; wherein said cable guide is a substantially U-shaped member having a pair of arms extendable along, and adjacent to, said axial walls of said housing, and a pair of bolts extendable through said arms and said slots for adjustably securing said arms with respect to said housing, each arm having an offset portion engageable with the peripheral wall of said housing, whereby the axis of said guide opening is substantially tangent to said reel; and including a power source connected to said motor and a remotely disposed switch for controlling said motor.

4. The structure of claim 1 including a pair of spaced fixtures secured to the stern of the boat and defining a pair of coaxial pivot openings, and a bent bar having a pair of substantially coaxial end portions pivotally disposed within said pivot openings, said eyelet being inte' ral with the central portion of said bar and spaced substantially from said stern.

5. A device for controlling the extension and position of a water ski tow cable with respect to a boat, comprising:

fixture means secured to the stern of the boat;

a bent bar having end portions mounted upon said fixture means;

an eyelet mounted upon the central portion of said bent bar and having an opening therethrough and alignable with the lengthwise extent of said boat;

a reel housing having a base resting upon and within said boat adjacent said stern thereof, and having a peripheral wall with a cable opening through the upper part of said wall;

a cable reel rotatably supported within said reel housing substantially concentrically with said peripheral wall, and a cable secured near one end of said reel and extendable through said cable opening in said peripheral wall;

a motor mounted within said housing and axially parallel with said reel;

a drive means connecting said motor to said lreel, whereby rotation of said motor effects rotation of said reel in one direction, said reel being rotatable in the opposite direction in response to a force applied to said cable away from said reel when said motor is deenergized;

a stop member secured to said cable, said stop member being larger than the opening in said eyelet so that said stop member is incapable of movement through the said eyelet in response to said force applied to the cable away from said eyelet, and said stop member being slidably receivable through the opening in said peripheral wall, engagement of said eyelet by said stop member being the sole means for stopping movement of said cable away from said reel and said boat, whereby none of said force tending to move said cable away from said reel is transmitted to said reel housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

